PLAY ON.

If music be the food of love, play on.

In challenging times like these, we turn to artists for comfort, for wisdom, for insight, and for inspiration. These words from Shakespeare are uttered by the lovesick Duke Orsino at the beginning of Twelfth Night. They “set the stage” for a romantic comedy where music’s ability to nourish the soul is celebrated and evaluated in the way only Shakespeare can. We hope you’ll journey with us to musical destinations for our Play On series!

CMA is pleased to offer the Play On virtual concert series at no cost to you thanks to support from

Series Sponsors
Iowa PBS Foundation
Nixon and Virginia Lauridsen
Eric and Carol Weber

Concert Sponsors
Paul & Claudia Schickler
G David (dec) & Trudy Holman Hurd
Barb & Andy Nish
Dean & Sandra Carlson

Accordo

American Swedish Institute, Minneapolis, MN

       Stream via Vimeo

Fri, Oct 23, 2020

7:30 pm

Hear the finest chamber music the Twin Cities have to offer! Accordo is a string ensemble composed of present and former principal string players of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra. The group has been named “Best Chamber Ensemble” by the Minneapolis Star Tribune and “the dream team of chamber music” by Minnesota Monthly.

BEETHOVEN String Trio in c minor
LOURIE Sonata for Violin & Bass
RAVEL Duo For Violin & Cello
MOZART Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

Musicians
Steven Copes, violin
Erin Keefe, violin
Maiya Papich, viola
Julie Albers, cello
Kristen Bruya, bass

All In

Campus Jax, Los Angeles, CA

        Livestream via Vimeo

Fri, Nov 13, 2020

8:00 PM, pre-show from Noce at 7:00 PM

All In is a collective group of Los Angeles area session musicians and friends. This septet is led by woodwind master Sal Lozano, a Southern California native. He will be joined by bassist Trey Henry, drummer Ray Brinker, guitarist Andrew Synowiec, pianist David Witham, trumpet player Michael Stever, and trombonist Alex Iles.

Click here to listen to excerpts from All In’s most recent recording.

Join at 7:00 for a pre-show featuring Max Wellman alongside an eight piece band at Noce! Celebrate the life and music of Francis Albert Sinatra with Come Fly With Me: Max Wellman Sings Sinatra.

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Midori

92nd Street Y, New York, NY

       Stream via Vimeo

Fri, Nov 20, 2020

7:30 pm

Midori, violin
Ieva Jokubaviciute, piano

Live from the 92nd Street Y in New York City, violinist Midori will transfix you with her graceful precision and intimate expression! A visionary artist, activist, and educator whose unique career has been dedicated to exploring and building connections between music and the human experience, Midori has been a leading concert violinist for over 35 years.

PROGRAM

GRIEG  Sonata No. 2 in G major, Opus 13 (1867)
Lento doloroso
Allegro vivace
Andante tranquillo
Allegro animato

MOZART  Sonata in E-flat major, K. 302/293b (1778)
Allegro
Rondeau: Andante grazioso

FRANCK  Sonata in A major (1886)
Allegretto ben moderato
Allegro
Ben moderato: Recitativo-Fantasia
Allegretto poco mosso

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Kurt Elling & Lizz Wright "Christmas in Chicago"

Green Mill, Chicago, IL

       Stream via Mandolin, Tickets are $20

Sun, Dec 6, 2020

3:00 pm

Live from the Green Mill on Chicago’s North Side, singers Kurt Elling and Lizz Wright perform “Christmas in Chicago.” This holiday performance from two acclaimed vocalists will be the perfect beginning to the season! Enjoy music from Elling’s Sony holiday release “The Beautiful Day” and more.

Renowned for his singular combination of robust swing and poetic insight, GRAMMY winner Kurt Elling has secured his place among the world’s foremost jazz vocalists. Declared “the standout male vocalist of our time” by The New York Times, Elling has garnered unprecedented accolades, including a fourteen-year run atop the DownBeat Critics Poll, a dozen GRAMMY nominations, and eight Jazz Journalists Association awards for “Male Singer of the Year.”

Acclaimed vocalist Lizz Wright is a steward of American music bringing brilliant color and vibrancy to singular original works and compositions by some of the greatest songwriters of our time. From her breakout Verve debut album Salt to her most recent album GRACE on Concord Records, Wright lives life filled with beautiful possibilities centered on the power of song.

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Olga Kern

Prague

        Stream

Sat, Jan 30, 2021

7:00 pm

Russian-American pianist Olga Kern is recognized as one of her generation’s great artists. With her vivid stage presence, passionately confident musicianship and extraordinary technique, the striking pianist continues to captivate fans and critics alike.

Steinway Artist and First prize winner of the Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition (at seventeen!), Olga Kern was born into a family of musicians with direct links to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff and began studying piano at the age of five. She jumpstarted her U.S. career with her historic Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas as the first woman to do so in more than thirty years.

Tune in on our Website

Tom Scott Quintet

Campus Jax, Los Angeles, CA

        Livestream

Fri, Feb 19, 2021

8:00 PM

Concert Sponsors

Paul & Claudia Schickler

Lineup

Tom Scott, saxophone
Aaron Janik, trumpet
Tom Ranier, piano
Chris Colangelo, bass
Gary Novak, drums
Tune in on our WebsiteTune in on Facebook

Tom Scott is a renowned composer, arranger, producer, music director, saxophonist and educator. His 33 solo recordings have earned him 13 Grammy nominations and 3 Grammy awards.

Tom has performed on more than 2000 recordings—by such diverse artists as Barbra Streisand, Quincy Jones, Thelonious Monk, the Blues Brothers, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin and Aerosmith. His numerous contributions include performing and arranging for Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Carole King, Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, Toto, Whitney Houston. He’s also performed and arranged for countless movie soundtracks, including Taxi Driver, The Jerk, Three Days of the Condor, Heaven Can Wait, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc. and the latest release of A Star Is Born.

His television composing and conducting credits include the themes for Family Ties and Starsky & Hutch, background scores for Baretta, Cannon, Barnaby Jones, and Streets Of San Francisco.  He has served as Musical Director for the Academy Awards, the Emmy Awards (9 times), the People’s Choice Awards, Comic Relief, the Carol Burnett Show, the Pat Sajak Show, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison, Olivia Newton-John, and the GRP All-Star Big Band, among others.

Tom teaches Master Classes in Woodwinds, Arranging & Film Composing, and is currently on the faculty of the New York University Summer Jazz program.

The Real Ambassadors

Louis Armstrong House & The Django Club, New York City & Brubeck House, Connecticut

        Stream

Sat, Mar 27, 2021

7:00 pm

Tune in on our WebsiteTune in on Facebook

Concert Sponsor

G David (dec) & Trudy Holman Hurd

The Real Ambassadors is a jazz musical developed by Dave and Iola Brubeck, in collaboration with Louis Armstrong and his band. It addresses the Civil Rights Movement, the music business, America’s place in the world during the Cold War, the nature of God, and a number of other themes. Songs from the musical were recorded by Columbia Records and a soundtrack album was released in 1962, just before the show’s premiere at the 1962 Monterey Jazz Festival.

The Brubecks and Armstrong were part of a campaign by the State Department to spread American culture and music around the world during the Cold War. Fittingly, The Real Ambassadors was about the important role that musicians play as unofficial ambassadors for their countries.

For this special performance,  the album will be performed in its entirety by a talented septet including

Jake Goldbas – Artistic Director/Drums
Alphonso Horne – Trumpet/Voice
Camille Thurman – Saxophone/Voice
Vuyo Sotashe – Voice
Shenel Marie Johns – Voice
Chris Pattishall – Piano
Endea Owens – Bass

Juilliard String Quartet

Amsterdam, Netherlands

        Stream

Sat, Apr 10, 2021

7:00 pm

Available On-Demand until April 17 at 11PM CT.

Register for Ticket

Concert Sponsors

Barb & Andy Nish

PLEASE NOTE: To access this concert you will have to register for a free ticket. By registering for a free ticket, you will have access to this concert at the same link emailed to you until 11:59 PM on April 17, 2021 – one full week following the live stream.

This concert is only available with ticket registration and is accessed through a link emailed to you at the time of registration. This concert is not streamed on civicmusic.org, YouTube or Facebook.

THE JUILLIARD STRING QUARTET

With unparalleled artistry and enduring vigor, the Juilliard String Quartet (JSQ) continues to inspire audiences around the world. Founded in 1946 and hailed by The Boston Globe as “the most important American quartet in history,” the ensemble draws on a deep and vital engagement to the classics, while embracing the mission of championing new works, a vibrant combination of the familiar and the daring.

Each performance of the Juilliard String Quartet is a unique experience, bringing together the four members’ profound understanding, total commitment, and unceasing curiosity in sharing the wonders of the string quartet literature.

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Aldo & Ilmar Gavilán (Concert + Film)

Detroit, MI

        Stream

Sat, May 8, 2021

7:00 PM

Register For Tickets

Concert Sponsors

Dean & Sandra Carlson

PLEASE NOTE: This concert will stream live at 7:00 PM CDT on May 8, 2021. By registering for a free ticket, you will have access to this concert at the same link emailed to you until 11:59 PM on May 15, 2021 – one full week following the live stream.

Ticket holders to the Gavilan Brothers’ performance also receive access to the award-winning documentary film about Ilmar Gavilán and Aldo López-Gavilán, Los Hermanos – The Brothers. The film will be available to ticket holders beginning Thursday, May 6 at 6:30pm CDT, and will remain available on-demand thru midnight, Sunday, May 9.

This concert is only available with ticket registration and is accessed through a link emailed to you at the time of purchase. This concert is not streamed on civicmusic.org, YouTube or Facebook.

THE GAVILÁN BROTHERS

The Havana-born Gavilán brothers perform original music from their breathtaking album, “Brothers,” composed by Aldo López-Gavilán and arranged for violin and piano by Ilmar Gavilán.  Aldo’s authentic voice has a genre-defying sound rooted in European classical traditions, Latin jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms. Drawing from this range of colors, Aldo’s compositions weave a layered tapestry that have been described as magical, optimistic, and at its core, deeply soulful.  “Epilogue,” a program highlight, was premiered in the US by Joshua Bell in 2016 at Lincoln Center.

THE FILM

Created by Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider of PatchWorks Films, Los Hermanos captures the Cuban-born brothers as they navigate living on opposite sides of a geopolitical chasm a half-century wide. Tracking their parallel lives in New York and Havana, their poignant reunion, and their momentous first performances together, Los Hermanos/The Brothers offers a nuanced, often startling view of estranged nations through the lens of music and family.

The Chamber Music Society of Detroit is partnering with the Detroit Free Press Film Festival to present the official Detroit premiere of Los Hermanos on May 6.  Immediately following the virtual showing, the Free Press will host a Facebook Live event with the artists and the filmmakers.  Don’t miss it!

For more information on the film or to watch the trailer, visit https://www.hermanosbrothersfilm.info/.

View Program